Alidade

Build and style maps in the browser

WHO USES ITPeople working with spatial data who do not need a full commercial GIS, and teams turning survey or field data into maps.

Use in the browser

An open Web-GIS: drop in spatial data, style it, and fly over 3D terrain in the browser.

★ 13▲ 2 HNAs of 09-19 18:00 UTC

13 stars · checked on GitHub 09-19 22:57 UTC · no 7-day star increase observed (GH Archive) (as of 09-19 18:00 UTC) · 2 Show HN points observed 09-19 01:13 UTC

NEW 1h OLD WHEN SEEN

The Alidade editor: a camera and terrain panel on the left, and 3D mountainous terrain rendered under a night sky on the right.

TESIGN TAKE

Filters are structures rather than strings, so the condition you built on screen is also shown as SQL — a way to check the map when you doubt it.

TRY

AT A GLANCE

LICENSE: Apache-2.0
USAGE: Commercial use, redistribution OK. Keep notices; mark changes.
LANGUAGE: TypeScript
PLATFORM: web
ACTIVITY: last commit 2 days ago (2026-09-17) · latest release v0.1.0 (2026-09-09) · 1 release As of 09-19 22:57 UTC
COMMUNITY: 1 contributor · 0 open issues (incl. PRs) · made by: an individual As of 09-19 22:57 UTC
SOURCES: Show HN
OPEN SOURCE: YES
FIRST SEEN: 2026-09-17 08:48 UTC
CATEGORY: DATA

A summary, not legal advice.

WHY IT MATTERS

Most mapping stacks start with an API key, and a map dies when someone’s free tier changes. Alidade is built so nothing needs one — described by its author as a constraint rather than a boast.

BUILD FROM THIS

A map is a single JSON document: editing the document changes the map, swapping the basemap does not destroy your layers, and undo goes sixty documents deep. Drop a GeoJSON, zipped Shapefile, GeoPackage, KML or GPX and it is reprojected into PostGIS and served back as vector tiles in the same request; links and WMS endpoints work too. Imagery becomes Cloud-Optimised GeoTIFFs, mosaicked on demand by rules such as newest or sharpest. Basemaps come from OpenFreeMap, terrain from SRTM.

WHO IT'S FOR

People working with spatial data who do not need a full commercial GIS, and teams turning survey or field data into maps.

START IN 5 MINUTES

# Open the live demo at alidade.aysanz.dev and drag in a single GeoJSON file.

CAVEATS

Self-hosting needs PostGIS and GDAL in place. With a dozen stars it is an early project, with the risk that carries when one person maintains it.

RECEIPT

FIRST SEEN: 2026-09-17 08:48 UTC
AT SOURCE: 2026-09-17 06:52 UTC
KEPT: 2026-09-19 22:45 UTC
CREATED → FIRST SEEN: 1h
WHEN FIRST SEEN: 12 ★
SOURCES: Show HN

The same facts in machine-readable form — View as Markdown · JSON

SIMILAR TOOLS

Up to five from DATA by ★ total: edited entries first, then repository cards; this entry is highlighted. Drawn from the same stored snapshot as the rankings — a comparison, not a recommendation. As of 09-19 18:00 UTC

NAME	★ TOTAL	▲ 7d	LICENSE	PLATFORM	LAST PUSH
gods-eye-viewLive satellite globe in your browser	★ 38.6k	▲ +900	Licence unconfirmedunconfirmed	web · windows · macos · linux	2026-09-17
AlidadeBuild and style maps in the browserTHIS ENTRY	★ 13	—	Apache-2.0permissive	web	2026-09-17
grafana/grafanaCARD	★ 76.7k	▲ +2	AGPL-3.0copyleft	—	2026-09-13
calcom/cal.diyCARD	★ 48.4k	▲ +6	MITpermissive	—	2026-09-12
umami-software/umamiCARD	★ 38.8k	▲ +2	MITpermissive	—	2026-09-13

TIMELINE

2026-08-29 09:59 UTCRepository created
2026-09-17 06:52 UTCShow HN post ↗
2026-09-17 08:48 UTCFIRST SEEN BY TESIGN
2026-09-19 22:45 UTCPublished on TESIGN

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